With an increase in the penetration of communication devices in our lives, such as mobile phones, fixed lines in office, and a wireless in local loop phone at home, the number of incoming calls at the communication device have increased disproportionately. Some of these incoming calls are more nuisance than utility for a user of a communication device. Depending on the timing and occasion of the call, a nuisance call can be a call from a persistent telemarketer, a missed call, a wrong number call, an intimidating call, an irksome call, or even an obscene call. Incoming calls of such nature can affect the peace and harmony in the life of the user using the communication device.
There exist various methods that enable the user to avoid such nuisance calls. In one such method, the user can switch-off the communication device for a definite period of time. However, resorting to such a method ensures that all the incoming calls are blocked, even desired and important incoming calls. This decreases the overall utility of the communication device. Another method to avoid the nuisance calls is use of calling number identification (CNID). CNID ensures that the phone number of the caller is displayed on a display screen of the user's communication device. This enables the user to accept the incoming call only from a caller that the user wants to communicate with. This method is only partially effective as the user might have to cancel or consciously avoid a recurring incoming call. This requires a manual effort and a consistent shift in attention from the ongoing business at hand. Moreover, in case the caller uses different lines to call the user, the user will have to keep track of various phone numbers that the user wants to avoid. This makes the method very cumbersome and unfriendly.
In yet another method, a blocked list is maintained at a communication server. The communication server is part of a communication network providing service to the user. The communication server screens and blocks the incoming calls as per the entries listed in the blocked list. For example, the blocked list may contain a number of a notorious telemarketer and if a call is received at the communication server from the same number, the call will be blocked. However, this method would fail in the event that the notorious telemarketer changes lines for making calls until the blocked list is manually updated.
In still another method, a white list is maintained at the communication server. In this case, the communication server allows only incoming calls from entries listed in the white list. For example, the white list will contain the phone numbers approved by the user and whenever a call is received at the communication server from one of those numbers, it will be allowed. However, this method has a disadvantage that it allows only those incoming calls from entries that are listed in the white list and blocks all other incoming calls. Further, even if a combination of the blocked list and the white list is used, it still requires the user to manually update both the blocked list and the white list to ensure accuracy.
None of the above mentioned methods are automated and all involve human intervention. Furthermore, the user is not notified about rejection of a call from a caller in any of these methods.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated, relative to other elements, to help in improving an understanding of the embodiments of the present invention.